"I'm so thirsty," the child said with a dry laugh, pointing at Mu Anxiao's bundle. "Brother, I want something to eat."
"Don't call me that yet," Mu Anxiao glared as the child put the water bottle back into the bundle, asking, "First, tell me, how old are you, where do you live, boy or girl?"
At this moment, Shen Yan looked at the child like an onlooker, then turned to Mu Anxiao and said, "This is retribution."
"Can you say one less word, junior brother," Mu Anxiao glanced sideways at Shen Yan.
"Are you asking for death?" Shen Yan said, reaching out and firmly pressing one of Mu Anxiao's shoulders.
Feeling Shen Yan's angry grip, Mu Anxiao immediately caved.
"Big brother, I was wrong, it hurts, it hurts," she said, tilting her body and looking up pleadingly.
"Brother, who is the boss between you two?" the child asked, being very observant.
Mu Anxiao endured the pain and said, "Of course it's me..." She glanced at Shen Yan. "My boss is the boss."
"Oh," the child nodded, then looked at Shen Yan. "Big brother, I'm fifteen, I live not far from here, and I'm a girl."
Shen Yan removed his hand, glanced at Mu Anxiao, and said, "She's asking you, not me. You don't need to tell me so much detail."
"Oh, I saw you together, so I thought you also..." The girl cautiously glanced at Mu Anxiao, who was rubbing her shoulder, and said, "thought the same thing."
"I am not the same kind of person as him, remember that," Shen Yan said, looking down at the girl.
The girl nodded. "Yes, I'll remember."
"How long has it been since you've eaten?" Shen Yan asked.
The instant Shen Yan asked this question, the girl's mouth quivered. "I..." She squeezed the tears that had gathered in her eyes but wouldn't fall. Only after the tears started to flow did she speak. "I haven't eaten for two hours."
Shen Yan was speechless.
Mu Anxiao looked at the girl's pale face, then at Shen Yan's stunned expression. Just as she was about to speak, Shen Yan said, "Let's go."
"Huh?" Mu Anxiao was taken aback.
Shen Yan turned and walked straight ahead.
Mu Anxiao scratched her nose, glanced at the girl who turned and followed Shen Yan without a word.
"I'm hungry," the girl wailed, looking at their retreating backs.
Mu Anxiao tightly clutched the bundle in front of her and quickened her pace to reach Shen Yan's side. "I think I forgot something?"
Shen Yan looked straight ahead. "Your stomach is fine."
"Stomach," Mu Anxiao repeated, and suddenly a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. She stopped and gasped, "Ouch, it's hurting again."
"That came on too fast," Shen Yan stopped and looked down at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao continued to gasp for air to relieve the pain. "I can't take it anymore, hold this for me." Saying this, she quickly unfastened the bundle and handed it to Shen Yan, turning and running into the weeds.
Shen Yan held the bundle in one hand, shook his head, and turned to look at the girl who was following. "Your home isn't far from here. If you hurry back now, you can have dinner."
"I'm hungry," the girl stared fixedly at the bundle in Shen Yan's hand.
Shen Yan glanced at the bundle and said, "You've been following us for a long time."
The girl pursed her lips.
"Such a long journey, and I didn't even notice you," Shen Yan took a step forward. "Clearly, you're no ordinary person."
"You figured it out?" the girl asked guiltily.
"Tell me, what is your identity? Once you tell me," Shen Yan glanced at the bundle again, "I'll give you food."
"Really?" the girl exclaimed excitedly.
Shen Yan nodded.